gottacaseofwanderlust

November 2024

I just returned from my first solo trip to Morocco — I visited the cities of Tangier and Chefchaouen — and I miss it already.

Morocco captivates slowly, then all at once.

It’s easy to be instantly enamored by the labyrinth of narrow alleys, vibrant mosaics of tiles, and the dynamic street life.

It’s less easy to adjust to the persistence of men selling things and calling you from every which way in a spectrum of languages they presume you can speak.

Yet there’s an undeniable sense of community that is a pleasant juxtaposition from the self-centered cultures of Western cities.

As a solo female in a country with strong negative stigmas, you are hesitant to trust people at first.

But soon you see that the people’s hospitality is genuine.

Random strangers go out of their way to help you.

I’ll never forget a group of men I approached desperately in a cafe, while trying to order a rideshare to the airport, who paused their evening hangout to assist me until I found a ride.

As I depart for my flight back to Madrid, I realize Morocco has completely captured my heart.

I can’t wait to return.

jump to:

1. Tangier:
2. Chefchaouen:
   1. everything I ate!
3. What I Wish I Knew Before Going: 
4. Helpful Links

---

Tangier:

Hostel rooftop views!

Chefchaouen:

The stunning hiking at Akchour

---

everything I ate!

For a detailed list and map of my favorite eats, check out my food guide to Morocco on Thatch here.

---

What I Wish I Knew Before Going: 

1. Bring cash!!! Hardly any places accepted payment by card. 
2. Don’t go with Google Maps ratings for restaurants. Go where you see local people eating (which is often places not even on Google Maps) 
3. Most people don’t speak English, or speak very little. Arabic is predominant with French coming in second. Spanish did not help (though this may be different in other cities)  
4. Women can wear whatever they want. There are no rules saying you can’t show any skin. My Moroccan friend went out wearing running shorts and I walked around town with my shoulders showing without being made uncomfortable. 
5. Morocco is no more dangerous than other countries, even for solo female travelers (safety is subjective and not accurately portrayed by the media). I felt perfectly fine walking around alone at all times of day. 
6. Be prepared to get hustled by vendors and waiters on the street — don’t be afraid to politely decline and keep on walking if you’re not interested in buying. 
7. If you’re a person of color, try not to be offended by people in the streets shouting things related to your ethnicity — I couldn’t walk 10 seconds without someone (always a man) shouting “China?”, “Philippines?”, “Japan?” or “Ni hao” and “Konnichiwa”. At first, it seemed mocking, but then I realized most are just speaking out of curiosity and friendliness. You can choose to get annoyed or play along with it. 
8. If you’re going to Chefchaouen from Tangier, and have time, you can visit the mountain city of Tetuán before because the bus stops here before Chefchaouen.
   1. Buses can be booked on the CTM website
9. If you visit Chefchaouen, Akchour MUST be a part of your itinerary — which means spending at least 1 night to have time to explore both the city and the nature.  
10. The rideshare app InDrive is their version of Uber here, though much cheaper and payment is always in cash.
    1. Note that you must have internet connection/data to book because the driver calls you before picking you up (I didn’t which made using InDrive a massive struggle)
    2. They may cancel on you if you don’t speak Arabic BUT you can always ask a local to talk to the driver for you

---

Helpful Links

• Podcast episode about things to know before traveling to Morocco: https://open.spotify.com/show/0sKg59FKrEIK8P042cm0wa?si=xWomLUIMSOOABPyzxvNg1w
• Check out my Insta for more Morocco here
• My food recs
• Learn more about Chefchaouen here
• Learn about Tangier here